Gothic Essay
Gothic Essay
Gothic literature can be described in various ways. There are numerous elements such as death, tragedy and corruption that make up this genre, however there is a lot more to it. Accidents of life and the inevitability of fate are commonly seen in many gothic texts and most themes are mutual throughout plays, novels and poems. The dark element intrigues us and back in the 1900's, when gothic literature was very common, it no doubt scared people. Historically, people around the time when gothic literature was at its highest weren't very intelligent. This meant that many of the things seen in gothic texts such as witches and ghosts were not considered fiction. They genuinely believed in many of the things that were written due to their lack of knowledge.
"The Pardoners Tale" is set in medieval times which can arguably be seen as the most gothic period in history. It was dark, gloomy and death ruled over countries. Almost instantly within the novel we are introduced to a place with deep gothic connotations, "Devils Temple". The "Devils Temple" is the tavern in which the three rioters constantly meet to drink and indulge in sin. Drinking, gambling and whoring was common in this tavern thus making it a dark, sinful place in the eyes of gothic literature. The fence on which the Old Man was sitting on may also be seen as quite a gothic feature. The fence representing both heaven and hell, it has symbolic meaning in the sense that we see the Old Man sitting on it. This would stand to mean that the Old Man is between heaven and hell or neutral, bringing the supernatural element into the story.
The Old Man is a mysterious character. We do not know who he is or where he's from, we aren't even told a name. This is rather suspicious and the very fact that it is an old man raises questions. Typically, in Medieval society, old aged people were hard to find. Hundreds of people would die every day. Constant plagues would result in the death of thousands
Gothic literature can be described in various ways. There are numerous elements such as death, tragedy and corruption that make up this genre, however there is a lot more to it. Accidents of life and the inevitability of fate are commonly seen in many gothic texts and most themes are mutual throughout plays, novels and poems. The dark element intrigues us and back in the 1900's, when gothic literature was very common, it no doubt scared people. Historically, people around the time when gothic literature was at its highest weren't very intelligent. This meant that many of the things seen in gothic texts such as witches and ghosts were not considered fiction. They genuinely believed in many of the things that were written due to their lack of knowledge.
"The Pardoners Tale" is set in medieval times which can arguably be seen as the most gothic period in history. It was dark, gloomy and death ruled over countries. Almost instantly within the novel we are introduced to a place with deep gothic connotations, "Devils Temple". The "Devils Temple" is the tavern in which the three rioters constantly meet to drink and indulge in sin. Drinking, gambling and whoring was common in this tavern thus making it a dark, sinful place in the eyes of gothic literature. The fence on which the Old Man was sitting on may also be seen as quite a gothic feature. The fence representing both heaven and hell, it has symbolic meaning in the sense that we see the Old Man sitting on it. This would stand to mean that the Old Man is between heaven and hell or neutral, bringing the supernatural element into the story.
The Old Man is a mysterious character. We do not know who he is or where he's from, we aren't even told a name. This is rather suspicious and the very fact that it is an old man raises questions. Typically, in Medieval society, old aged people were hard to find. Hundreds of people would die every day. Constant plagues would result in the death of thousands